


Bonds of love (part 1): Tending to Tension

by onkoona



Series: Bonds of Love [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bottom Severus Snape, Heavy BDSM, M/M, Sex Toys, Shibari
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 18:54:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3988990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onkoona/pseuds/onkoona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ordinarily a school night is no time for dungeon 'games', but sometimes... </p><p>(This 3 part series was written for snarry-thon 15)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonds of love (part 1): Tending to Tension

 

  
**Bonds of Love** ****

 

**Part 1: "Tending to Tension."  
  
**_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ First had been that fool of a Hufflepuff boy who had misread the recipe and had added a whole packet of Flitterbloom seeds instead of only one seed as set out in the instructions on the black board. The result, of course, had been a cloud of billowing orange soot that had stuck to everything organic in the place. And Severus had spent the rest of the 90 minute class wrangling Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years. It had put his back in a kink from the stooping so he could twirl his wand around each and every little dunderhead and it had brought his mood, which hadn't been that bad that morning, down considerably.  
  
After the short break between classes, it was double potions with the third year Slytherins and Gryffindors. The nice peaceful pace the lesson had started at was destroyed by one Angie Twitchings (Slytherin), when she tripped over her own feet while carrying a large piece of freshly cut nettle root which promptly escaped her chubby fingers and landed in the by one Ailsberry Latimer (Gryffindor) carelessly left open jar of Red Burmese Demon's Drool, which, in turn exploded spectacularly, leaving the entire room and occupants covered in skin-burning red goo.  
  
Cleaning it all up forced Severus to forgo lunch in the great hall and he made do with a ham sandwich and half a cup of tea just before the afternoon classes started. Well, at least the house elves had remembered he liked a few slices of pickles on his ham sandwich. But the tea had been too hot to drink, again. Needles to say, a few pickles couldn't counteract the slippage Severus' mood was suffering, and it wasn't helped by the sheet of parchment with the words FILTHY DEATH EATER scribbled upon it in red ink he found tucked into the pile of handed in homework. He flicked an Incendio at the parchment, watching it go up in smoke, and he actually had to waste a few precious moments wrestling his budding anger back down; there was still half of the day to go.  
  
The afternoon saw a nice start to the sixth year group, which had students from all four houses in it. Nice, yes, up until they got to the bottling part of the base potion; that's where is all went to pot, so to say.  
  
There was an old potion class axiom that came to mind; the older the students, the more excessive their blunders. And boy did it apply here. Severus had to cancel the class after only 40 minutes and he'd taken the five students with burned hands and faces to the Infirmary. And not in the least because he needed some ultra-strong burn cream himself.  
  
Not wanting to stand around waiting for the cream to work and Madam Pomfrey to take care of the students, Severus took himself up to the Headmistress' office, which was empty, so he could take a closer look at the incident in Albus' old Pensieve. He was not in any way surprised when it corroborated his depressing hypothesis; Eli Montreau (Slytherin) had deliberately popped a Saturn Lily's seed pod into his neighbour's earthenware potion bottle. The result had been a spectacular explosion, just as described in the 'what not to do' section of the Advanced Potions book. In short, young master Montreau (pureblood) had sabotaged the class and put his fellow students in much danger. And Severus was forced to take the matter up with the Headmistress, which he did by way of a note left on her desk and the memory left in the Pensieve, as soon as the itching of his hands had changed to the tingling of magical healing. Severus received an owled note just as he'd returned to his class room: Eli Montreau was to be expelled that same day. It left Severus with the sad feeling that he'd lost another of the snakes to the darkness and he'd been helpless to stop it from happening.  
  
The last class of the day had gone only marginally better; no one expelled and no fatalities. But he had to break up a fight between three Gryffindor fourth years and three Slytherin year mates. These two groups had been fighting on and off for most of the school year and Severus was forced to give them all detentions for the next two weeks. He wasn't looking forward to having to supervise more detentions, but the six gave him no choice.  
  
The last thing that day was another note stuck in with the completed homework assignments; another parchment with the word TRAITOR on it and a crude drawing of the familiar skull and snake sign, all in black ink. It also had a lovely scurvy curse attached to it, Severus did admire the spell work on it. Again he Incendioed it, feeling cold and empty inside. What a dismal end of a dismal day.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ As he came to the door of his Hogwarts dungeon rooms, Severus stopped for a moment so he could calm himself and try to put on a brave face. It wouldn't do to let his young lover's day be ruined by Severus' lost good mood. That morning had been started so well, with lazy kisses and honeyed tea and cuddles. No, Severus would not want to see that feeling go, not now. And if that took pretending that he was in a happy mood, he resolved to do just that.  
  
He stepped forward and gave the password to his door, entering swiftly, like he always did.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ The small living room, with its two-and-a-half-seater settee, single armchair, large sideboard, domineering fireplace and round table with two wooden chairs in the corner was predictably empty, as Severus closed the door behind him, shrugged off his teaching robes and hung them on the peg by the door next to Harry's outside robes. He riffled deftly through his robe's pocket to get the miniaturized bundle of homework, which he enlarged as he was moving towards the sideboard where he put the now large stack in the only empty place on top of it. Looks like he'd be correcting for two hours at least that evening.  
  
"Good evening, Severus." Severus quickly looked up from his workload to look at Harry who stood in the open door that led to the kitchenette. Harry was wearing his leather apron which was lightly stained with a yellow substance, Golden Rod juice by the colour of it. He must still be preparing bases for the Magic Fireburn cures St Mungo's had been asking for, Severus mused.  
  
"Good evening, Harry," he said in return. "How is the juicing going?" he inquired, figuring that was a safe subject for small talk. Because any other subject might make him lose his resolve to appear happy.  
  
But Severus could tell immediately that his ruse had failed by the way the corners of Harry's mouth went down and his right eyebrow went up. Harry didn't say anything, though, and Severus just held his breath.  
  
After a tense moment, Harry reached behind him and pulled the bow that tied the stiff apron at his back. He never took his gaze off Severus, who felt not unlike a mouse caught in a rattle snake's gaze, as he removed the apron, folding it so the stained side was on the inside before placing it on the round table next to him, and said, "How's about you get ready."  
  
It wasn't really a question, as Severus knew it required no answer from him, just compliance. But still his head screamed 'no' just as his body screamed 'yes, oh yes' and to his eternal shock, out of his mouth came the words "but it's a school night?"  
  
He stood stock still as he realized he'd talked back to what had been a direct order; a clear violation of their agreement. He could only hold his breath as Harry raked his gaze over Severus' form, first slowly down and then up just as slowly.  
  
"Get ready," was all he said, before turning back towards the kitchen snapping up the apron as he went.  
  
Severus exhaled. He would have wanted to stand there a little longer catching his breath but he knew he had already one error to make up for; best not compound the matter. So he took the few strides that took him to their shared bedroom, pushing open the door and working on his buttons at the same time.  
  
After putting his shoes in the shoe rack he made short work of his clothing, draping the outer garments over 'his' straight backed chair and depositing his underwear in the wicker laundry basket. Once naked he walked straight into the bathroom, taking time to do the necessary and to brush his teeth and also drink a glass of water when he realized he was thirsty. Afterwards he put his wand on the bedside table on his side of the bed.  
  
He did not tarry otherwise and presently he stood before the third door in the bedroom. It was closed and Severus did not open it. Instead he touched his right hand to it, grazing it with his fingertips as he went down to sit on the mat in front of it, his lower legs flat on the ground and his butt sitting on the heels of his feet.  
  
He shivered, but it was not from being cold. He tried to clear his mind and prepare as he had been instructed, but he couldn't keep hold of the emotions that coursed through him at the day's events. He had been so contented that morning, but the thoughts of the stupidity and the down right malignity of some of his students made red hot anger boil up in him once more. Now it felt even stronger than the emotions had felt during the day; he had been too distracted to pay much attention to any of his feelings then. But now it burned, like acid poured into open wounds. And he...  
  
The door moved under his fingers and Severus raised his head from where he'd almost had it down on his knees, on top of his clenching fist. When he could see Harry's sneakered feet in the doorway he stopped his ascent.  
  
"Inside," Harry said, the feet moving away and the door opening further into the stone tiled room. Severus had to work to unclench his fists and get up from his crouch. Once he'd attained verticality he entered the dungeon room.  
  
For that was exactly what it was: a dungeon. Complete with roughly hewn walls, wall sconces with burning torches, chains and ropes hanging from large iron rings set into the ceilings and anchored into the walls. There was a wooden X structure dominating one corner, its corners also equipped with rings similar to those on the walls. In another corner stood a wooden vaulting horse, with more rings added to the original innocent design. Along one wall was a wooden pallet with a mantras on top, with a pristine white cover and a folded sheet and blanket, and a small stack of towels resting near the wall. A good four feet over the mattress was a long shelf, maybe a foot deep, mounted on the wall. It was littered with all kinds of sexual and bondage toys. But Severus knew that what was still on the shelf did not matter, it was what was on the butler's tray that did.  
  
The tray sat on its stand just behind Potter, who stood in the middle of the room. Severus had trouble looking away from the tray, as it held Severus' nearest future. From where he stood he could only see bundles of hemp rope, Harry covering most of his view with his T-shirt-clad chest. The old Chudley Cannons shirt, Harry's favourite, along with the blue-jeans he also wore.  
  
"Severus."  
  
Severus started at the sound. He quickly looked to the ground, hoping Potter hadn't noticed his lapse in concentration.  
  
"Here," Potter said and Severus followed the man's pointing finger to a spot further into the room and on the floor. A red circular mat appeared there and Severus sank down on it, facing Harry but keeping his head down. This was where Harry usually spoke to him, and he dreaded the moment, for he was sworn to answer all questions truthfully here.  
  
"I know you've had a hard day," Harry opened. Severus' heart sank at that, but he felt he had to show it to be true, so he bobbed his head in the affirmative.  
  
"Severus." The word held a warning and Severus corrected himself immediately. "Yes, Harry, it was a hard day," he said.  
  
"You do realize that you are not responsible for the mistakes and misbehaviours of Moncreath, Latimer or Miss Twitchings? Nor for the turf war between the Scorpions and the Beaters? Nor are you in any way to blame for Montreau's expulsion."  
  
Severus did not respond, knowing full well that he should. But he could not give the answer Harry wanted to hear and lying would be even worse, so he kept quiet, knowing the consequences and dreading and longing for them in equal measures.  
  
A very pregnant silence followed, which was broken by Harry's "very well," as Severus followed the sea green sneakers around the room with his eyes only.  
  
Presently Harry stopped in front of Severus again, dangling a rope end in Severus' field of vision. "For talking back to me, you will orgasm at my command only. And for taking on guilt where you have none, you will come three times tonight. Do you accept?"  
  
Severus swallowed hard at that. The controlling of his orgasm was not unexpected; Harry used that 'punishment' often and to great effect. But Severus wasn't at all sure he was capable of coming three times in one session; he wasn't 20 any more. On the other hand, Harry had not asked his opinion on his chosen punishments; only his acceptance was required. And that really was never in any doubt; Severus had never refused before and he knew he deserved the punishment, that and any punishment that Harry could come up with, twice and three times over. He accepted.  
  
"Stand up," Harry commanded and Severus complied immediately. As he attained his full height he surreptitiously turned his head, trying to get a peek at the contents of the butler's tray, but Harry's right hand caught him by his jaw and made his head turn so he had no choice but to look at Harry's bespectacled face.  
  
"You look at me or at the floor, understood?" Harry commanded.  
  
"Yes, Harry," Severus answered, fully intending to do so the rest of the night. He was completely at Harry's disposal, and he would find out what exactly was on that tray if and when Harry used it on him. That had to be enough. And it was enough. And Severus felt a certain heaviness he hadn't realized he'd been feel, suddenly become lighter.  
  
"Turn around, hands behind your back," Harry commanded even as his hands were turning Severus around by his shoulders. Severus' arms came up behind him almost of their own accord, each hand gripping the opposite elbow. He looked at the rough stone wall - hard grey Scottish rock with a few crystalline spots here and there that picked up the torchlight - while Harry worked on tying his wrists with familiar hemp ropes.  
  
Severus let his thoughts run out into a soft murmuring which he could easily ignore as he was occasionally pushed to and fro while Harry put an upper body harness on him, securing him at two places on his body, high on his chest and lower around the ribcage, counter-cinching those to provide stability. Severus did not pay much attention to the particulars; he'd been harnessed like this many times and had more trust in Harry's ability with rope than he had faith that the world would still be there tomorrow.  
  
He did take note, if only marginally, when the harness was pulled up, taking him with it until he stood hanging in the ropes. His feet were still mostly flat on the floor, but not for long as Harry first picked up one foot and folded the leg so the back of the calf touched the back of the thigh. After he'd tied the leg together like that, Severus was forced to let go of his contact with the ground altogether as Harry unceremoniously grabbed up his standing leg. It too was tied in place and for a long moment, Severus just hung there, slowly spinning around his axis, his upper body straining and his legs frog tied. His head stayed down, eyes firmly on the red circle of the mat.  
  
Then a warm hand halted his lazy spin and Severus could feel Harry tying more rope onto his right thigh. And then Harry grasped him around his waist and pushed him up just as there was a strong tug at his thigh to go up as well. Presently he hung almost vertically, his head lower than his hips, twisted over on to his side, with his left leg dangling down as much as it could in its present tied-up state. This twisted state didn't last long, because Harry added a rope to Severus' left thigh and pulled him up by it through the ring in the ceiling that held all of Severus' tether ropes. Harry leveled him out face down and then tied off the rope ends.  
  
As Severus swung gently back and forth - at least like this he couldn't accidentally start to spin - his head hanging low, he could see Harry's sneakered feet move around. He hazedly observed Harry taking off his shoes and tossing them aside, leaving the small feet partly covered by the too long blue-jeans legs as Harry moved about some more.  
  
Harry's feet moved towards Severus' head position, and he felt a hand in his hair, grasping a good hank, and lifting his head up by it. He didn't resist the treatment, even though he didn't like his hair to be touched.  
  
The move brought his head up, his neck feeling the strain, so he could gaze at Harry, who had moved his face to the same level. Keeping a strong grip on Severus' hair, Harry used his not quite free hand - he was holding some black leather tangled thing - to pull Severus towards him so their lips met. Severus found himself closing his eyes as the touch on his mouth firmed.  
  
"Are you doing okay?" Harry asked as the kiss broke. Severus knew he should answer verbally, but he found himself unable to form words, so he nodded instead.  
  
"Good," Harry pronounced, making Severus profoundly grateful that he hadn't insisted on a proper answer.  
  
Harry removed the hand from his chin, and commanded, "open wide." Severus opened his mouth as far as he could and was not surprised to feel a rubber ball being pushed into his mouth. The ball needed more room than Severus, in his current position, could give actively, so he relaxed his jaw as much as he could and let Harry use the force needed to push the ball gag in place. Once seated, the familiar darkness of the attached eyeless mask was settled over his eyes and Harry gently lowered Severus' head  
  
before buckling the head gear into place.  
  
With the loss of his sight and the use of his mouth, another heaviness was lifted off his shoulders. Before, he could have used his safeword or any of a dozen wandless spells, both light and dark. But Severus had never attained any ability at spells that could be used wandlessly and wordlessly, so now he was truly at Harry's mercy. And it felt like he was flying.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ For a while he drifted. Hyper aware of the slight back and forth swing of his rig; its almost inaudible squeaking and the air displacement across his naked skin. Even the most minor twitch from his leg or head changed the swing rhythm and he found that the only constructive thing he could do was try to relax completely.  
  
How long he hung like that he couldn't tell; anywhere between a few minutes and an eternity. But at some point a warm hand touched his left buttock, and Severus started as if he'd felt lightning hit him.  
  
"Shh, calm down," Harry said not too far from Severus' face. Another warm hand appeared on the top of his low hanging head and petted him gently. In any other circumstance Severus would have hexed anyone who would have the audacity to try and pet him like some frightened kitten, but now he leaned into the touch as much as he could and he found himself making sounds that embarrassingly closely resembled those of a needy cat.  
  
He noted these thoughts as they passed through his head. Intellectually he was aware enough that he was almost far enough gone into the scene not really to care what he did or how he sounded in his needy state. Intellectually he also noted that if he still could take note of anything, then he wasn't quite gone far enough yet. And he wanted that loss of control, loss of care and guilt.  
  
To let Harry know all was not well, Severus started wiggling about. "Hey, hey, none of that now," he heard Harry say as the hand on his head stilled and the one on his ass gripped his butt cheek and gave it a semi-painful squeeze. Then both hands disappeared.  
  
"'Right then, 21 should do it," Harry's voice came from somewhere behind Severus. Something made a swooshing noise and Severus couldn't help but tense up even before the rope ends hit his posterior. It didn't hurt. The first few never did. Two more blows landed in quick succession and Severus was experiencing a minor stinging. More followed, starting a slow burn all over his buttocks.  
  
Harry made a steady inroad into the number he had set, or at least Severus hoped he did because he had lost count at least twice, being too busy trying to squirm away from the pain. Then the whipping stopped and Severus sagged in his harness, breathing raggedly. He jumped when a hand hit his left butt cheek hard. It lingered and caressed, leaving a feeling between extreme itching and pain behind.  
  
"Not altogether gone yet, are we?" Harry sing-songed and Severus gulped round the ball-gag. He both wanted Harry to stop and also for him to continue and push him through the pain to the state of bliss he so desired. He wiggled in his ropes.  
  
"Okay, my pet, let's get you there," Harry said, removing his hand. Severus then felt him tug on the ropes that were attached to his legs. They were loosened and his legs were lowered so he was again hanging upright, with no tension on his legs. Then Harry grasped his right leg and pushed the knee towards his chest. He took away the slack on the rope and left the leg there while he did the same with Severus' other leg.  
  
Next Severus could feel Harry pushing a stick, most probably a spreader bar with rings at both ends, in through the hollow behind both his knees. Harry pulled his legs apart as far as they could go and then tied each knee to the bar, making it impossible for Severus to close his legs, no matter how much he might want to.  
  
Severus could feel Harry tether the ends of the bar, but he wasn't hoisted up by them. Instead Harry grasped Severus around the upper body and Severus experienced a brief moment of vertigo when his head and chest were lowered down, so he was face down again, with his legs under his stomach, effectively pushing his ass up and out.  
  
He hung like that for a while, trying to relax while he listed to Harry puttering around. At the sound of a large swish and loud smack, Severus nearly jumped out of his skin. That was the sound of the birch switch.  
  
He tensed up, expecting to feel the bite of the vicious thing with the next swing but instead he felt fingers at his anus; slippery fingers smearing lube around and then one inserting itself. It felt around inside of him and he started to squirm, even he himself not knowing if he was trying to get closer or to get away. The finger didn't seem to be distracted by Severus' indecision; it unerringly found his prostrate and proceeded to push against it with some force. Severus saw stars and only now he felt the further stiffening of his cock, not having realized he'd been hard for some time already.  
  
To his utter dismay, which he expressed by mewling around the gag, the finger was removed, but all was forgiven when it returned a moment later with a mate. Severus' world narrowed to just those two digits and his prostrate, and he found himself starting to shake, heading for an explosion.  
  
Then the fingers disappeared again and Severus heard Harry say, "not yet, not until I give the word." As his endorphin high came down Severus hung his head and accepted Harry's control. He whimpered only a little as he felt the rubbery head of a dildo at his hole. He was forced to hold completely still, trying to think of potions ingredients and their noxious properties, or fellow female teachers naked, anything not to come just from the feeling of the sizable dildo being pushed into him, while Harry pulled on Severus' thigh as a counter force.  
  
By the time it was seated, Severus was nearly hyper ventilating, and he was grateful that Harry came around to pet his head for long minutes and whisper "shh, shh pet, there, there," in his ear. After a while he did calm down and Harry let got of his head. Severus could hear him move back and pick up something.  
  
"Now, pet, I'm not going to tie to that toy down. It's up to you to keep it inside of you. I expect you to succeed," Harry pronounced. There was that large swish again and this time the blow landed. Severus' right buttock exploded in flames and he screamed behind the gag. He felt his hole contract around the dildo from the pain, but thank Merlin, it didn't shift.  
  
Before Severus had had time to regroup, fire erupted in his right buttock, going through him like lightning and this time he felt the dildo move. He clenched up as hard as he could as two more blows landed, the pain singing through him, making his fingers and toes curl and tingle. Another three blows came down, but he was feeling them individually less and less, instead he found himself floating in a red sea of agony.  
  
More blows followed and Severus luxuriated in the now pleasurable pain. He arched to meet each blow and forgot all about the dildo or the command to wait to orgasm. Then the blows stopped. And it took a while to realize that while his bottom was on fire, his hole was empty. His cock had deflated, but he could tell that it was because of the pain, and that he hadn't ejaculated. Small mercies anyhow.  
  
"You dropped it," Harry stated and Severus would have given him a snarky retort had he been able. Severus realized with a shock that that last thought had not been appropriate and, apparently, Harry had seen the thought in his posture for he said, "Oh, no, none of that now. I think you need taking down a peg or two."  
  
Severus' heart sank; he knew he deserved it but he dreaded it all the same.  
  
"Since that one was obviously too small for you, we'll go with one a couple of sizes larger," Harry said, sounding almost smug. Severus tried shaking his head; _larger is not necessary, I'll be good from now on, Harry, please_ , he wanted to say, but it came out as garbled bleating from around the gag.  
  
Intelligible or not, Harry took no notice and presently another rubbery item was pushed against his sphincter. There was enough lube there to make entry possible, but Harry had been true to his word; this one was a lot bigger and Severus was seriously feeling the stretch - even after the spell he'd done earlier - as it was pushed in. Harry did not stop the progress at any point, keeping an even pressure until the fake balls hit Severus' perineum, ignoring any and all noise coming from Severus.  
  
For a moment there was no movement and Severus made the only significant sound in the room; he panted as hard as he could through his nose, trying to draw enough breath to make the feeling of fainting go away. He was hyper aware of everything; of the ropes against his skin, of Harry's hand flat on his left buttock, of the huge dildo inside of him.  
  
Just as he felt he was on the way of not passing out, he felt Harry's hand push and then the dildo started to make its way out again. Going out was better but it was quicker too and after only the head was left inside, it started moving back in again. Severus tried not to clench but the girth made it hard. And then he felt an odd twisting motion from that thing and pleasure surged through his as his prostate was grazed. He screamed.  
  
Once the twisting motion had started, it kept twisting on the way out, again stimulating his most sensitive nob. It reversed direction again and Severus saw stars again as his cock filled up to bursting. On the way out, he vaguely noticed that Harry's hand had disappeared, but his thoughts were scattered again and he could feel pre-come dribbling out of his shaft.  
  
In it went again, picking up speed and Severus saw stars. Out again and in again, setting a grueling rhythm. Severus found himself starting to thrash against his bonds, which gave not at all, trying to get take the monster deeper, and deeper.  
  
Hands appeared at his head, lifting his head onto a warm shoulder, as the pistoning increased. For a moment Severus was totally disoriented; how could Harry be at his head when he was working that dildo? The answer came like a matter of course: magic. Not for nothing had Severus accepted Harry as his dominant; the young man was the most powerful Wizard alive, a no-brainer really. With that thought, Severus surrendered to the pounding of the dildo and the will of his Master.  
  
He was sobbing into Harry's shoulder, desperately trying not to come while the dildo hit his prostrate unerringly on every stroke. He alternately begged and wailed into the ball gag, kicking his legs as much he could, completely open to Harry's command, willing to accept his will even if Harry decided never to let this torture be over. Severus was Harry's to keep or discard, to love or loathe, to command or punish, to pleasure or torture, to mark, maim or even kill. Severus would not lift a finger to defend himself, not against Harry's love.  
  
He was shaking now, almost convulsing; he needed to come or he felt he really was going to die. But he resolved to hold true and he would fight to the death not to break Harry's command.  
  
"Shh, love, you may come now," Harry whispered into Severus ear, a hand petting his head. And everything whited out and his ears started ringing and he exploded like a supernova, trying to scream Harry's name as he was blasted to a million pieces.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Harry removed the mask from his lover's face and gently lifted one eyelid to check his state; out cold. Not surprising; that had been a hard orgasm. One that had not left Harry unaffected either. But Harry knew his own pleasure could wait; as the dominant he had duties to perform first.  
  
He gently removed the ball gag, using just a touch of magic to help it come out. The use of the rubber gag had been a compromise; Harry had not been willing to go with what Severus had initially requested and Severus had refused to go without some sort of stifling implement. That Muggle bondage gear catalogue Harry had picked up in Soho a few years back really turned out to be a godsend; great source of quality gear and good ideas.  
  
He cast a quick Scourgify on the ball/mask thing before putting it back on the butler's tray. Then he went around the still insensible suspended man and checked out all the rope work for fresh pinching and general road worthiness. He cast a cleaning charm to remove some of the salty sweat and a mild healing charm to tone down the redness of his lover's arse. He debated cleaning up around and inside the man's whole, but decided against it. Harry had threatened Severus with, or promised more like, three orgasms and he was well aware of what a stretch - literally as well as figuratively - that was going to be. So he needed Severus open and he needed the rigging to hold for another round at least, hopefully two. So he made his inspection quite thorough and only afterwards did he retrieve and clean up the two dildos that still lay side by side on the floor.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ After Harry'd done all he could to prepare for the next round, he'd fetched the hight backed wooden chair that had stood in a dark corner to stand backwards, an arm length away from Severus' low-hanging head, and straddled it, putting his forearms across the back. He sat there, fingering the amulet that hung from a strong silver chain around his neck, knowing that the magical item would let him know if any problem occurred with Severus. Even so, Harry kept his gaze on the still figure, watching as he swayed ever so slightly to and fro in his bindings.  
  
Harry was not unsatisfied with his rope work; it wasn't the more elaborate configurations he preferred to use, but it was serviceable enough to keep Sev safe and satisfied on a school night. Normally they kept the bondage to the weekend, usually starting Friday night, but having heard from Sassy and from McGonagall both what kind of day Sev had had, Harry had made an executive decision to make that night 'a night', school night or not.  
  
But it did mean that Harry had to tone down his rope use and go straight for satisfying Sev. Hence the 'punishment' of three orgasms. After three like that Harry knew Sev would not be feeling anything like guilt or anger, just fucked-out bliss. At least if Harry had a say in it. Which, with a snort, he realized he did. In all the time they'd been together, Sev had never refused Harry the use of his body. Sev would let him tie him up and suspend him and let him hang for hours, days even, without using his safeword.  
  
Oh yes, they had a safeword, just as it said in all the books you're supposed to have when playing 'games' like these. But Sev had never actually used it in play and only once in negotiation before a scene (as a test, Harry suspected, though he did believe Sev's assertions that he didn't like his hair pulled).  
  
Yeah, that was another thing you were supposed to do: negotiate on what and how and how much. That had never worked for them either. The only things Harry had managed to agree on with Sev were that just before a scene Sev would answer Harry's questions completely honestly (Harry had not been above threatening with using a few drops of Veritaserum) and that Sev could refuse the 'punishment' that Harry set out after the questions. But what worried Harry was that Sev had never actually refused any punishment Harry had devised; not even when it strayed far into the realm of pain.  
  
Harry didn't particularly like to mete out pain, but time and time again Sev would ask it of him, not even pretending it was for pleasure. Harry had realized quickly that Sev's feelings of guilt were gnawing at his insides constantly, and that the only times he was relatively free of them was after having received real punishment. It fell on Harry to make sure this punishment did not cause permanent harm; as the dom in the relationship he had taken that responsibility onto himself and he had been well aware of that when their relationship started. What forms it had all taken he hadn't known, but he felt he could handle it, most of the time, anyway. And it wasn't like he wasn't getting anything out of it himself; within the relationship he'd found he loved being the one holding total control for once in his life. And it ticked a box that otherwise would have to be filled in with being an Auror or another type of authority figure. No, Harry much preferred the power of control over the man he loved at night, while he spent his days slicing, dicing, and otherwise preparing potion ingredients for his and Sev's little owl-post potions side line. Oh, and he liked doing the cooking, but the cleaning and the rest of the house work he left to Sassy, their house elf. After all, he wasn't completely domesticated. And Sassy seemed to enjoy being useful.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ It was both a subtle twitch from the amulet's magic and Harry's own eyes that alerted him to the signs of his lover coming back around. Ready for round two.  
  
Harry stood up and simultaneously grabbed the back of the chair and moved it out of the way. He walked around Sev, who had started squirming, making him swing again. He put a steadying hand on Sev's side and completed his visual check - no pinching anywhere or red or white spots - until he had arrived at Sev's head again and he put his other hand on Sev's upward straining head.  
  
"Are you back?" he asked, gently gasping the hair, making sure he had a good handful, so he wouldn't accidentally pull on single hairs, or he'd never hear the end of it tomorrow. Sev's head butted into his and he moaned but he didn't answer verbally. Well, it wasn't really necessary at this juncture and Harry hadn't explicitly made verbalization a demand of tonight's scene so he accepted it with a, "that's good, pet."  
  
He stooped down on one knee and guided Sev's face closer so he could kiss him at length. Outside of their scenes Sev was disappointingly reluctant to take the time just to kiss, but here Harry's wishes ruled and right then he wanted to kiss for a while. And Sev let him, moaning almost continuously.  
  
As Harry started wrapping up their snog session (or he was going to come spectacularly without having had his pet at all, and where was the fun in that?) he took his hand off Sev's flank and flicked his wrist, summoning a green leather mask from the butler's tray to his hand. His teeth gave a last pull on Sev's lower lip, leaving it red and swollen, but then he pulled away altogether and fixed the eyeless mask into place, letting his pet's head hang down as he fastened the buckles. He hooked a finger under Sev's chin, tilting the head up and admired his lover's blind face. Using the mask had been a deal breaker for Sev, citing the need for it in order to be able to let go. Harry, in turn, had demanded that he be the one to choose what type of blindfold was used, since he'd be looking at it most. As always, once the main point had gone Sev's way, the Potion Master didn't object to any of Harry's adaptations. So, after so many sessions with the mask on, Harry had gotten used to the look, which he had largely designed himself, and now could even see the beauty of it.  
  
This particular mask was made of dyed dark green, almost black velvet, with long thin lines of black silk embroidery in a paisley type pattern. Harry had also had a matching waistcoat made which he's make Sev wear under his teaching garb on school days. Harry thought the dark colour suited his lover tonight; jet black hair over flushed white skin, just delicious. And he said so aloud, watching Sev's Adam's apple bob.  
  
"Time for round two."  
  
He let go of the head, watching it go down, as he raised his hand and called over a short wooden stick with straps at either end, one side with a buckle and the other with holes. The stick had indentations like some one had bitten down on it hard and more than once. Harry held the stick flatly against his pet's mouth and commended "open up."  
  
Immediately Harry felt the bit being taken up inside Sev's mouth and he proceed to buckle the thing in place. The bit was not a favourite of Sev's, Harry was aware of that, but Harry didn't want to put in another ball gag, since he had other plans for that delectable mouth quite soon.  
  
Harry let his pet get 'comfortable' with the new toy while he prepared his magic trick. He'd spent a good few hours sinking his magic in a set of four new ropes that had been specially ordered. They were made from a combination of silk and hemp and Harry had ordered them in green, so he could keep them separate from his regular hemp ropes. He handled them, letting their silky surface glide through his fingers as he checked again that the added magic had been distributed evenly. Satisfied with his inspection he took the first of the four over to his pet, uncoiling the rope and gathering it back up into a loose bundle, as he took position behind the suspended man.  
  
Harry, quite theatrically, even if no one was watching, stretched out his arm between the ropes that held Sev's thighs in place and dropped the bundle on the middle of his pet's back. Sev jarred from the sudden touch but otherwise stayed still. _Now the fun begins_ , Harry thought, as he snatched up two more of the green ropes and moved to Sev's head so he could be closed to his pet's ear as he started to whisper, "sslaths shafamsshh."  
  
Harry could see Sev shudder, Parseltongue always seemed to affect the stoic Potion Master, and Harry continued his incantation. Soon Sev had a lot more to shudder about; Harry could see the first rope start to move like a lazy snake across his back, just coiling and uncoiling along the thin back. Sev started to moan and pant, Harry was happy to note. _Now let's up the ante_.  
  
He commanded the rope snake to start wrapping itself around Sev's waist, which it did in luscious loops, gliding around his pet from both sides. The next command made one end wrap itself around Sev's semi-hard penis, making the man squeak and the prick firm. Harry commanded a binding action from the rope snake and the coil tightened, making orgasm difficult, but not impossible. Sev tried to kick out a knee, being stopped short almost immediately by the original rigging and he moaned at length, letting Harry know there was no objection of note to the proceedings from his end.  
  
He proceeded with giving the second rope a hand up getting onto Sev's back. This one he commanded to loop once around the man's torso and spend its time coiling and uncoiling around Sev's ultra-sensitive nipples. Sev's moaning started to turn into keening and Harry could see the man's penis jump. His own was pushing strongly against his jeans as well, but he knew its time would come soon enough, so he ignored it for now.  
  
He moved back to stand behind Sev, so he had a perfect view of the man's bottom. It was here that he released the third rope. He commanded it to glide over the still red buttocks and congregate in the indentation of his pet's arse. _Now comes the tricky bit_ , the bit he hadn't been able to practice. He gave the command and watched a coil butt against Sev's opening. Harry pushed some more magic at the loop and breathed in mixed relief and excitement when it went in. Sev bucked in his ropes at the no doubt very odd feeling of the rope looping its way into him.  
  
For some minutes Harry stared as the rope slowly disappeared, inch by inch. Then, when maybe a foot and a half had gone in, he halted the spell and cast another. The effect of the second spell, Harry could not see, but he knew would work as he'd practiced it a lot, and he could tell by the way Sev was panting and moaning that the rope was swelling up inside the man like it should.  
  
Satisfied that all the ropes were doing their intended jobs, Harry left the wiggling and pulsating spells on them running, while he walked around again and unbuckled his jeans, freeing his now very eager cock. He cast a quick cleaning spell on himself as he drew Sev's head up by the headband of the mask and opened the bit buckle behind his head with his other hand. He didn't undo it completely; just enough that he could pop out the bit from his pet's mouth and let it dangle around his throat.  
  
Harry grasped his penis, moving it to Sev's mouth which was already open, ready to receive him. He slid in about four inches, where he stopped for a moment to let Sev adjust to the intrusion. When his pet swallowed around him, Harry knew Sev was ready to let him go deeper and he promptly did. _Ah, finally_ , he thought, as his pet started sucking for real.  
  
"That's a good pet," Harry said, petting the top of Sev's head with one hand, resting his other on the man's shoulder. Harry was both blissed out at the strong vacuum on his prick and absolutely mesmerised with the way his penis moved in and out of the mouth he so loved. He removed the one hand from atop Sev's head to grasp the amulet. It was warm and it pulsed gently, in time with Sev's moans and Harry's thrusts, and Harry imagined he could feel a little of Sev's bliss through the artifact.  
  
He let Sev suck to his heart's content while he hooked the hand from the shoulder behind Sev's head, setting up a lazy fucking rhythm. Harry was in no hurry at this point, but he was well aware that Sev was about ready to burst. Aware yes, but that did not mean he had to let Sev come yet. Oh no, Harry wanted his pet a lot more desperate than that before he'd even consider giving him the command.  
  
To that end he dropped the amulet, which swung back against his T-shirted chest, and used the free hand to command a certain foot and a half of the third rope to start vibrating. And he smiled a not altogether good-guy smile as he both heard and felt Sev scream around his prick. Yes, Sev was going to be most desperate to come before Harry would let him.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Severus felt as if he was going to combust, explode and/or melt any time now. His throat hurt from the screaming and the prick rubbing against him on the inside. His nipples were on fire and his penis was hard enough to pound nails, which it seemed to be doing against his belly on every swing produced by Harry bloody Potter's too bloody slow fucking. And then, to top it all off, there was the creepiest feeling in his anus, as if a couple of sponges was rooting around trying to make a nest in there, rubbing his prostate with every effing wiggle.  
  
Severus screamed again to make his displeasure known. Of course it did no good, it never did; Harry just ignored the whining and continued his lazy fuck, the lazy sod. And the rope around his penis suddenly tightened. And then it seemed to relax again, making Sev moan in relief. But then it tightened again. And relaxed again. All in time with Harry's thrusts _._ Oh no, the bastard was trying to make him come before he was commanded. Severus decided it was not going to happen and he tried to will his impending orgasm down. It was just that that rope wasn't helping. Neither was the pre-cum in his mouth. Nor the other rope. Nor any of the ropes. And he sobbed when he started to feel those tell-tale rolling waves that heralded orgasm. He felt rivulets of sweat run down his back and sides as he trembled, trying to hold on desperately, as more come filled his mouth and he was forced to swallow or choke. He screamed again, making a god awful racket, trying to prevent the inevitable.  
  
But then the rope around his prick stopped squeezing, giving him a moment to swallow mouths full of come, and Sev could feel the rope fall away altogether, just as he heard his Master say, "come for me, baby." And he did the only thing he could; he came.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Harry petted Sev's head as the man was panting heavily, trying to calm down from his second orgasm of the night. Harry had made sure his pet wouldn't really choke on his cock, when all reason had left Sev's world. He kept petting with one hand while he cast a couple of silent cleaning spells in short order. Dripping bodily fluids were only sexy for a very short time after the show was over, and both he and his lover were quite fastidious about not leaving them longer than was fun. And Sev had managed to cough up most of Harry's deposit, yuck.  
  
Harry didn't mind these 'down times' between activities, no matter the yuckie tasks that would keep him busy at such times. No, he just got a chance to look his fill, admiring the way Sev's white skin was next to the beige/brown of the hemp ropes, and he was free to pet his otherwise very prickly pet to his heart's content. And he had time to think the kind of odd thoughts that he'd usually dismiss as dumb. Like how the green of the new ropes was looking even better than the brown, and how he could safely, and effectively, dye the hemp ropes to a dark shade of green. Yes, that would look elegant against the pale skin. He would use the in his mind already dyed ropes to create a scene where Sev would hang by a complete body harness, tied in neat Shibari style, his arms pulled up and out, also encased in a _karada_ type binding, head flung back, Sev's unusually long hair braided from the top of his head with a rope worked in and pulled straight up, (yes, Harry was aware Sev was not going to let him do that last part, but it was Harry's fantasy; it didn't have to come true to be enjoyed). He'd frog-tie Sev's legs; the favourite type of leg tie he liked to see on his pet, legs folded and calf and thigh tied together, leaving Harry free to either open or close the legs like a book.  
  
For this fantasy he'd want them opened as far as Sev could go. Harry would them tie them in place when Sev hung a good three feet off the floor. There would be many ropes from the legs to the rings in the floor, enough to make Sev's feet sit exactly under his butt and his knees at the same level as his feet, forming a horizontal line. He would then start to add ropes to every part of the tableau, creating an illusion of an oak type tree, with high up its many branches stripped as if it was winter and below, the ropes representing roots that penetrated the earth deeply. And as the tree's stem, Sev would be there, eyes closed, mouth a little open, his face serene such as Harry had only rarely seen it, looking like a dryad sleeping until some magic would make him come alive.  
  
_Hmm, yes,_ Harry though while he was still gently petting Sev. Under his hand his pet had stilled a short while back. Harry had noticed, but had finished his delicious thought first; after all, while they had one more 'leg' to go, there was no real need to hurry.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Severus felt languid and so, so tired. The gentle hand of his Master was both a great comfort and a reminder that the night was not over yet. His mind shied away from that thought back to the comfort part and he tried to stay with that as long as possible, but as his breathing slowed to a normal pace, he knew this tranquillity could not, would not last. He hung his head lower with that thought, only realizing too late that that action directly triggered the next phase in the proceedings. He groaned at his own folly, as Harry's hand disappeared from his head and he heard his Master say, "fine, then."  
  
Severus was startled a bit as hands quickly unbuckled the bit, pushing it back into his mouth and buckling it back up. Next there was fiddling behind his head as a rope was attached to the buckle and Severus' head was pulled up, putting tension on his neck and shoulders, but not enough to strain him too much. He was too tired to object to the manhandling; he didn't even bother to growl as he settled into the new position.  
  
One warm hand appeared on his left side and fingers of the other wrapped around his very limp and still aching cock, pumping lightly once, twice, three times. Severus did groan then. "Still sensitive, are we?" came from his left. _What did you think, you cretin_? he thought but he made no actual noise.  
  
"Well, we won't let that stand in our way, now will we?" he heard Harry say, letting go of his penis, and he moaned in part resignation and part anticipation.  
  
But Severus found his anticipation denied. Because instead of getting on with it, Harry, frustratingly slowly, went around the entire rigging, running his fingers under every binding, over every knot, pulling on every supporting rope, driving Severus up the wall with his infuriating attention to detail. In the end Severus kicked out again, well, as much as he could in his trussed-up condition. It seemed to work because the inspection stopped, but then he realized the whole thing had misfired when he heard Harry say, "now that's just not on," in a cold tone.  
  
"I think another lesson is in order," Harry continued as Severus could hear him move in the direction of that infernal butler's tray. He could hear something wooden scrape on some other wooden thing; most likely the implement of correction against that blasted tray.  
  
"A count of twelve, I think," he heard Harry say and then he heard a very recognizable whoosh and he felt the square slap of the paddle against his still sore bottom a split second later. He jumped in his bounds, squealing from the surprise and the pain. "One."  
  
Severus almost levitated when the second hit, his ass roared in pain. "Two." The next four came in quick succession, making Severus bite down on the bit as he screamed his lungs out. The pain radiated out from its source, which was getting pummeled without mercy and without any pause whatsoever. "Seven."  
  
Severus was sure Harry meant to break him with this relentless pounding landing unerringly on exactly the same spots on his arse cheeks, and, _fucking Merlin_ , if the boy wasn't right in that. "Eleven." _Only one more, AHHHHHH_. "Twelve."  
  
The silence was deafening. The sound of the paddle and his own screaming still rung in his ears, along with a roaring that had its origin in Severus' butt. He felt he was burning back there; as if he was sitting in a cauldron full of a still boiling infusion of snapdragon petals and jalapeño peppers.  
  
He tried to catch his breath around the bit, but the angle his head had been pulled up at made that difficult. Then a hand landed on his right butt cheek and he lost his breath all over again.  
  
No doubt the hand petted him gently, but on his end it felt like the jalapeño peppers were being applied in a thick paste. It was all he could do not to start screaming again for fear of losing his breath all over again.  
  
"Now that's much better, isn't it," he heard Harry say. And then he jumped when he again felt a warm hand on his penis, stroking gently. It was still a bit sensitive but the discomfort paled in comparison to that hand that was still on his butt.  
  
"Time to finish this," came from Severus' right and he couldn't stop a shudder as the hand movements on his cock speeded up. But just as he was starting to feel something vaguely similar to pleasure the hand dropped away, and Severus sagged in his ropes. It was pointless to object or complain; Harry would do what Harry wanted and when Harry wanted it, no matter what Severus wanted. And belatedly Severus realized that he wanted it that way, too.  
  
He found himself sinking ever deeper in his bonds, held tight and safe and at the complete mercy and disposal of Harry and of his love.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Harry could tell Sev was pretty much done for the night, so he decided not to drag things out any longer. He took his hands off his pet so he could quickly summon the lube that was reputed to be soothing to friction burns, and turned out to be very soothing to paddle, uh, 'itch'. He quickly pulled out his more than ready dick, slapped some of the cool cream on, thickly lathered up three fingers and, smearing some of the cream over the bright red cheeks, located and entered the hole in between.  
  
He could see Sev twitch as Harry grazed his prostate and after two passes he pulled his fingers out. He then lined up his dick and entered the hot cavern in one long stroke. He paused a moment, sending the jar away, and leaned forward, so he was hanging over and on top of Sev's lower back. This caused his penetration to go deeper and he both heard and felt Sev groan. He groaned again when Harry reached down and grasped the cock in his slippery fingers. He started pumping the hard member in time with his own thrusts. He set a hard and fast pace, determined to bring both of them to completion as quickly as possible. But he was equally determined that Sev would finish first and when Sev shuddered under him, indicating that Harry's thrust had found the man's most sensitive gland, he smiled, knowing he'd win that one, easy squeasy.  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_ Harry woke feeling a tingle in his ear. He found himself completely disoriented for a split second until he realized that that was how he always felt when waking, and with that realization came the memory of asking Sassy to wake him at midnight and that Sassy liked to pull on his ear to wake only him and not 'Master Sevvy Snape', because, even after five years' service to their dungeon rooms, Sassy was still scared stiff of Sev. Imagine that. Well okay, Harry had to admit, being threatened to be used as potion ingredients next time Sassy woke the irascible Potion Master, and the man actually summoning one of the fillet knives, might have something to do with it. Such drama queens, the both of them.  
  
Harry yawned and slithered up in the bed, checking on Sev on his right, deeply asleep, he whispered "Sassy" to the room and the diminutive house elf appeared at his left side. He quickly laid out his plans and sent her off to do her part. He then turned over to wake up his pet.  
  
Sev was not amused. But Harry was relieved when the man did not seriously object to the orders given; those of having some supper in bed.  
  
Harry had been keenly aware of their missed dinner earlier and he was also aware Sev had missed lunch; one sandwich with only three bites taken out of it and one cup of tea was just not enough for a man who was too thin to start with. Fattening Sev up was proving a full time task over the last five years; Sev was so easily distracted by other matters, and his own body apparently couldn't clue him in effectively enough, so it fell on Harry to remind the man to eat. Forcing him to eat even, though Harry was well aware that there was a very thin line between being helpful and harmful in that matter. And so Harry didn't insist they had a full dinner; it really was quite late, but had Sassy bring some soup with nice fresh bread. Harry knew Sev loved freshly baked bread and the soup would give his pet some very necessary liquids and also a bit of salt; he had noticed Sev had sweated a lot in the session.  
  
After having Sassy clear away the debris, Harry made to sit up for a half hour's read so the meal could settle before going back to sleep. As he retrieved the book, Sev slipped out from under the covers, put on a dressing gown and slippers and went to the bathroom, where he proceeded to make the usual bathroom sounds. Harry had just read a page or more when Sev came back out. But where Harry expected his lover to come back to bed, the man veered off in the direction of the sitting room.  
  
"Sev?" he asked, putting his book down.  
  
"Homework," came the answer from the other room. _Oh.  
  
_ "Uh Sev? Don't bother looking for it, I sent it to Hermione; I knew we'd be busy tonight and there wouldn't be time to..." He trailed off when Sev appeared in the bedroom's doorway. He was holding a stack of parchments with a red ribbon around them, tied neatly like a parcel. Sev looked almost sardonic with his height, the jet black bathrobe and his right eyebrow all the way up on his forehead.  
  
"It was by the fireplace," he said.  
  
"Well, Hermy always was quick with her homework," Harry laughed. Even Sev's mouth curved up, giving Harry a warm feeling.  
  
Sev walked back into the bedroom, putting the bundle on his night stand. Harry watched as his lover hung the bathrobe back on its hanger, slipped off the slippers and got back under the covers. There he sat up against a pillow propped up against the headboard and laid the bundle on his lap. He pulled the ribbon and retrieved the top parchment. As he perused it he said, "Harry, you can't just ask Miss Granger to do my work for me. Well, at least she is doing it thoroughly, I must admit," he added as he put the first page, which was covered in red ink corrections, aside.  
  
"I don't see why not?" Harry shrugged. "I've done my share of baby sitting for her and you've made gallons and gallons of that awful skin lotion for her when she was pregnant. God, that stuff stank."  
  
Sev had already worked himself through a third of the stack. He dropped the page he was holding aside and said, "But next time please check with me. I don't think the Headmistress would approve of an outsider doing the marking."  
  
"Minerva said it was okay. I did check. Now put that away; I'm sure Hermy would never hand anything in that wasn't perfection, so we can snuggle some more."  
  
Sev did no such thing, of course, instead he harrumphed and got back to reading. "I'll have you know I DO NOT snuggle. Now, let me finish reading this. Even if I didn't do the correcting, I need to see where the dunderheads made their mistakes, so I can prevent their idiocy from spreading any further."  
  
Harry could see the work was already halfway done, having Sev get on with it for another 10 minutes would be no hardship. So he picked up his book again and found his place.  
  
They were silent for a while, but then Sev moved the parchments off his lap, used his wand to cast a Nox on the sconce on his side of the bed and shimmied down under the covers. Harry then did the same, but without actually using a wand, and presently all was dark and Harry snaked an arm around his man.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For bringing the happiness back."  
  
"Was no biggie."  
  
"I disagree."  
  
"Love you too, now go to sleep."  
  
"Yes, Harry."  
  
_#HP#SS#HP#SS#HP#SS#  
  
_


End file.
